25 July 2009

The Greinke start has turned from an inspiring event to an experiment to see how the Royals can leave Zack with a no-decision or loss of late. I had hopes for a run at 20 wins but at this rate he'll be lucky to get 15.

*** Three Royals pitchers dominated Round Rock. Lenny DiNardo stranded the bases loaded in the 3rd and Omaha took the lead with 2 runs in the 4th on a Mario Lisson RBI single and Cory Aldridge RBI forceout. Omaha left the bases full in the 6th but Round Rock didn't have a hit after the 4th. The Royals got to former Royal P Jose Capellan for 2 runs in the 8th on RBI singles by John Suomi and Tim Raines Jr. to make it 4-0. Express SP Bud Norris took the loss with 6 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 Ks to fall to 4-9 with a 2.63 ERA.

The O-Royals are 39-58. Game 2 is tonight as Stephen Randolph (5-3, 5.90) is set to face Express righty Yorman Bazardo (8-4, 2.87). IF Tony Pena Jr. has been added to Omaha's roster but is in "reserve".

*** A wild game saw NWA come back from two 4-run deficits, including a rally in the 9th to force extras, and win in a 12-inning slugfest. Everett Teaford got the first 2 outs in the 1st but was then blistered for 4 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and a hit batsman, plus a David Lough error in right as the Cards took a 4-0 lead. Ed Lucas cut the lead in half with a 2-run homer in the 2nd for his 5th of the season and, later in the inning, Jarrod Dyson hit an RBI single and Kurt Mertins hit an RBI double to tie the game. Teaford gave up solo homers to DH Andrew Brown (his 3rd) and C Tony Cruz (his 7th) in the 3rd to make it 6-4 Springfield. NWA stranded 2 in the 5th and Ben Swaggerty gave up a leadoff homer to the first batter he faced, LF Steven Hill (his 14th) in the 5th to make it 7-4. The Cards scratched out another run in the 6th to increase the lead to 8-4. Lucas got the Nats back on the board in the 8th with his 6th homer of the season and 2nd of the game to cut it to 8-5. NWA stranded 2 and Cards closer Francisco Samuel came on to pitch the 9th. Lucas hit a 2-out RBI single to keep NWA alive and journeyman Vance Wilson came through with a big 2-run double to tie the game. The Nats stranded 2 and the game went to extras. Aaron Hartsock left the bases loaded in the 10th and Gilbert de la Vara stranded 2 in the 11th. NWA took control in the 12th as Marc Maddox hit an RBI single, Cody Strait scored on an error, Mertins singled home a run and Jeff Bianchi hit an RBI double to make it 12-8 Nats. de la Vara gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the inning before finishing it. RP Marco Gonzalez took the loss with 4 runs (3 ER) allowed over 1 1/3 IP to fall to 0-3 with a 5.97 ERA. Starter Brandon Dickson allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 3.62. Seven Cardinals had multiple hits. Three Cards had 2 RBI as RF Tyler Henley was 3-7 with 2 RBI (53) to move to .336. Rehabbing IF Troy Glaus and Cruz also had 2 hits and 2 RBI for Springfield.

The Naturals are 17-9 and a game up on first. Game 2 is tonight as Matt Kniginyzky (3-7, 5.40) takes on Cards lefty Ryan Kulik (4-6, 5.19).

*** The Rocks almost rallied back to tie it in the 9th but almost doesn't count. Alex Caldera gave up a run in the 1st on 2 hits and 2 walks before leaving the bases full. Eric Hosmer scored on an error in the 2nd and the game was tied at 1. Caldera allowed another run in the 4th and then gave up a solo homer to 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (his 16th) in the 5th to make it 3-1 K-Tribe. With 2 out and Johnny Giavotella at second in the 9th, Hosmer hit a clutch RBI double but Nick Van Stratten grounded out to end it. RP Kyle Landis got 1 out for his 2nd save. Starter Russell Young went 8 2/3 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) on 7 hits with 6 Ks to improve to 3-5 with a 3.93 ERA. Three Indians had 2 hits, including LF Lucas Montero, who also stole 3 bases (29) in improving to .264. Chisenhall's HR gave him 65 RBI.

*** Eight late Loons runs turned a tie game into a rout. Mike Lehmann gave up a 2-run homer to RF Kyle Russell (his 22nd) in the 1st but the Bees tied it with single runs in the 2nd and 3rd on a Sean McCauley RBI double and Adrian Ortiz sac fly. Lehmann gave up a leadoff homer to 3B Anthony Hatch (his 5th) in the 4th but Ortiz killed a potential rally with an OF assist at the plate to end the inning. Patrick Norris hit a 2-out RBI single in the 5th to tie it at 3. Lehmann wasn't done giving up the longball, however, as C Tony Delmonico lit him up for a 2-run shot for his 7th of the season in the 6th. Riquy Pena stranded 2 in scoring position, but got touched up for 3 runs in the 7th before Dusty Odenbach left the bases full. Odenbach then gave up 3 runs in the 8th to make it 11-3 Great Lakes. Starter Josh Walter got the win for the Loons with 5 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) allowed on 3 hits and 3 walks with 6 Ks to move to 6-3 with a 3.33 ERA. Four Loons had multiple hits as DH Alfredo Silverio was 3-5 and Russell had 2 hits, including the HR and his 5th triple, and 4 RBI (72) along with a walk and 3 RS to move to .273. Two others had 2 RBI for the Loons and SS Dee Gordon stole his 55th base.

The Bees are 11-15 and 5 games out. A 3-game home set with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (23-4 (!), A Padres) starts tonight as Manauris Baez (4-4, 3.64) hurls against TinCaps righty Chris Fetter (0-0, 2.08). The Bees are 1-2 versus the TinCaps, who are 68-29 overall this season. Wow.

*** Idaho Falls couldn't scratch out a run until the 9th. Santiago Garrido stranded 2 Owlz in the 1st, then got bailed out by Julio Aparicio's assist at the plate in the 2nd to strand 2 more. Garrido stranded 2 more in the 3rd but the Owlz finally got to him for 4 runs in the 4th on a leadoff homer by SS Jon Karcich (his 1st) along with 4 other hits. Ryan Morgan gave up a run in the 5th thanks in part to 2 of his own errors. The Chukars didn't really threaten until the 9th when Ben Theriot hit a 2-out, pinch-hit RBI single. Aparicio struck out to end it. P Carson Andrew worked 4 scoreless innings for the win to move to 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA. Starter Garrett Richards was pulled after a scoreless 1st to keep his ERA at 0.00. Five Owlz had 2 hits. 1B Dillon Baird was 2-4 with his 2nd triple and 12th RBI to move to .411.

*** An 8th inning run got the Royals the win over the division-leading M's. After stranding 2 in the 1st off rehabbing reliever Chad Cordero, the Royals got a run in the 2nd on a steal of home by Luis Piterson to make it 1-0. Anthony Howard hit an RBI ground-rule double in the 5th to make it 2-0 but the Mariners got to Leonel Santiago for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it. Adrian Martinez hit a 2-run double in the 6th to put the Royals back up, 4-2, but Brent Fisher gave the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Juan Polonia hit a bases-loaded single in the 8th to give the Royals a 5-4 lead but the Royals left them loaded. Geronimo Batista and Jack Adams finished off the win. RP Anthony Fernandez allowed 3 runs (2 ER) over 4 IP to take the loss and drop to 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA. Four M's had 2 hits.